Internal Affairs

Kazakhstan's Minister of Religious Affairs and Civil Society, Nurlan Yermekbayev, on Monday said that while the Central Asian nation has kept religious extremism at bay, "no state enjoys absolute protection" against radicalism, efe.com reports.

Is the Central Asian integration possible or is it just a pipe dream? What kind of a player would Central Asia be as a union? And finally, what is holding the five Central Asian countries up from uniting?

President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, in his recent article “The Course towards Future: Modernization of Public Conscience,” urged to switch to the Latin alphabet. His article has stupefied numerous experts in Kazakhstan and terrified Russian pundits – who see the step as “provocative” and “alienating” from the Russian influence. And to top it off, Kyrgyzstan announced of the same intentions the next day.

Travelers bound for Tajikistan should be aware that they now need written permission to bring any book into the country – or out of it. However, you’re probably safe bringing in the latest bestseller, as long as it’s not a Farsi translation.

Despite many challenges, it seems some measure of progress is being made across Central Asia. In numerous international metrics systems, the states of Central Asia often trend together toward the lower rungs of the rankings. Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, for instance, sees all five Central Asian states come in among the bottom third globally. Reporters Without Borders’ Press Freedom Index, meanwhile, sees only Kyrgyzstan land within the top 100 nations, and only North Korea and Eritrea scoring worse than Turkmenistan.

Another leader of Kyrgyzstan's opposition Ata-Meken (Fatherland) party has been charged with corruption, rferl.org reports. The State Committee for National Security (UKMK) said on March 27 that lawmaker Almambet Shykmamatov is suspected of fraud while serving as an auditor at the State Accounting Chamber in 2011.